South Carolina Insanity/Bigotry

Years ago when I lived in Alabama, we would always say "Thank God for Mississippi" since in no matter what the ranking involved might be, Mississippi almost always scored worse or rated lower that Alabama in terms of backwardness, etc. Now, liviing in Virginia - hardly a beacon of of progressive thinking - I can say "Thank God for South Carolina" where the level of bigotry and out right religious insanity seems to know few limits. Between a local school district which is seriously considering the elimination of all school clubs rather than allow the formation of a GSA to the legislature's adoption of a bill that aloows the Christianists to have auto license plates with "I Believe" and a cross on them, the level bat sh*ttery in the state seems to be completely out of control.

*

In terms of the license plates, it seems to me the legislators are needlessly pandering to the Christianist voting block with no thought or care as to the larger message that will be sent by these state issued license plates. Moreover, I find it ironic that the modern day Pharisees in South Carolina who would be the likely purchasers will be enabled by the state to wear their intolerant religion on their vehicles (as opposed to their sleeves) while at the at the same time by their actions and propaganda they spread a message of hate against gays, immigrants, non-Christians and others (I personnally suspect that many of these "Christians" are probably also racists and hate black as well). What the Hell is in the water down there? First some highlights from Yahoo News on the insane efforts to block a high school Gay-Straight Alliance club:

*

A South Carolina school district has delayed until later in the month a vote on whether to ban all student clubs that don't relate to academics or sports as a way to close a gay student organization. Vice chairman Robert Gantt said Monday the Lexington-Richland School District 5 board was delaying its vote on whether to ban the clubs to get more public input.

*

Officials had said the district couldn't stop the alliance from forming because federal law prohibits discriminating against a club based on its purpose. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network says there are about 4,000 gay-straight alliances at schools nationwide, including 16 in South Carolina. (AP)

*

One has to wonder whether these nutcases education bureaucrats have given any thought to the fact that the elimination of all clubs is surely NOT in the best interest of district's students? Most likely not, since with the Christianists, its's really all about coddling their bigotry. Nothing else matters. As for the license plate issue, while the state's Republican Governor seems in touch with reality and the concept of separation of church and state, the rest of the legislature clearly is not. Here are highlights from the New York Times:

*

South Carolina drivers will be the first in the nation to be offered license plates that carry the phrase “I Believe” and a Christian cross over a stained-glass window under a law that took effect on Thursday.

*

The bill authorizing the plate passed the State House and Senate unanimously on May 22. It became law without the signature of Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, under the South Carolina Constitution. “While I do, in fact, ‘believe,’ it is my personal view that the largest proclamation of one’s faith ought to be in how one lives one’s life,” Mr. Sanford wrote on Thursday in a letter to Glenn F. McConnell, president pro tem of the Senate and a fellow Republican.

*

Representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Jewish Congress said they were considering suing the state over the plate. Neither organization was aware of any previous state that has approved a similar plate. A proposal for an “I believe” plate in Florida failed in April. “The whole issue here is that people are trying to get the state to endorse their religion, and that’s wrong,” said Dr. T. Jeremey Gunn, director of the A.C.L.U. Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “It’s almost as if there’s insufficient support, and they have to go to the state to get it.”